Evaluating Job Offers

Congratulations!  You have successfully interviewed and landed a job offer.  Now what?  It's time to step back and evaluate all the variables that go into an offer. 

Ask yourself:

• Does this offer support my medium and long term career goals?
• Does it reflect my values, interests, aptitudes and skills?
• From a practical standpoint, does the job offer a reasonable commute, suitable working conditions, realistic time commitment?
• Will this job be a stretch for my skills and knowledge or can I do it with my eyes shut?
• Can you see yourself in this job in 6, 12 or 24 months?  How you answer this question will tell you how much career growth and satisfaction you think the job will offer.

If you have completed a career self-assessment as part of your job search, use the results of the assessment to determine how well this offer fits your skill set and long-term career goals. If you see this job as a transitional step, make sure it is the right move.  Talk to peers, friends, family and advisors to get feedback on whether this job represents the right step along the path.

If you are struggling to decide whether the job is right for you, try to
drill down to the stumbling blocks.  Sometimes our gut tells us no, and
our head says yes.  Listen to both.  You don't want to commit to a job
just to find out it is not a good fit a new months later.  Your
performance and motivation will suffer if you take a job for the wrong
reasons.